Hello, everyone. My name is Adam Kaoukeb, and I’m from France.

This 3-month internship at Cardio Flow Design was my first long-term stay outside of my country of residence, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of adapting to a new environment, for me at least. Some people around me had told me to expect a lot of things before I came. Still, I stayed open-minded and found that many of those preconceptions only exist in the most touristic areas of Tokyo, not in the more common neighborhoods, such as the one where I live.

I found it easier to visit less-known places with a mindset more akin to someone curious about his surroundings than simply as a tourist. It helps that many of the things I like fall into this category, including nature-heavy and quiet places, such as Shinto Shrines. Through this internship and my 3-month stay, I will gain an experience that is quite different from that of a tourist, and I appreciate it in that way.

I hope the future interns will keep that in mind and remember that Japan is indeed a tourist-focused country, but it has much more to offer.